Reckless Abandon

Chapter Twenty Four

Enrico's POV

"So, hanggang dito nalang kayo." ani Miles habang ina-unload ang kanyang mga bagahe galing sa loob ng compartment ng sasakyan ko. Alice hands him his bag pack and hugs him. Miles will be catching a flight to return to Hong Kong para sa trabaho niya.

"I'll be back soon, okay?" he says. I looked at Alice under my lashes. She is fighting her urge to cry. Alam niya kasing hindi naman totoo na babalik si Miles anytime soon. He's an awfully busy guy at siguradong matagal-tagal pa bago ito makakauwi ulit dito sa bansa.

"Mag-iingat ka dun ah? You know the drill." sabi ni Alice sa kanyang kambal na lalake. "Tsaka i-chat mo ako kapag nasa Hong Kong ka na. Alam mo nakakainis ka! Minsan kasi isang buong linggo kang walang paramdam dito sa amin pag nandun ka na ulit. Hindi ko malaman kung namatay ka na dun or what."

We both chuckled. It was my turn to give my friend Miles a hug. "Mag text ka kasi. Or magparamdam ka sa group chat natin. Alam mo naman kapag nababaliw na sa kakaisip yang kapatid mo sa akin yan nangungulit."

"You guys know how busy I am! Pero oo na, oo na nga sabi. Promise yan. At hoy, which leads me to saying," he tilts his head up while turning to me. "Enrico, take care of my little twin sister ah."

I rolled my eyes jokingly. "I'm tired being his substitute elder brother, Miles. Malaki na yan, kaya niya na sarili niya."

"I know right? Miles, please don't say that. Kaya kong alagaan ang sarili ko." Alice protested.

"Just don't let her get into trouble," Miles insisted. "If you're tired being her substitute elder brother just be her second dad instead."

"Worse!" I groaned. "Binibigyan mo naman ako ng sakit sa ulo eh!"

Alice elbowed me to my rib. Ginulo ko naman ang buhok niya.

"Just deal with her, dude." Miles said. He picks up his bags from the ground. "Sige, I gotta go na. I'm gonna miss you all."

"Wag kang magkakasakit dun ah." bilin ng kakambal niya. "Wag mong kalimutang kambal-tuko tayo. Sakit mo, sakit ko na rin. Sabi ni mommy huwag mo daw kalimutang kumain! Hoy!"

"As if." Miles answered with a snort while walking away. "Okay, I'll go. Goodbye guys."

Tumambay muna kami sa parking lot ng airport at hinintay na maka-alis ang eroplano na lulan si Miles bago kami tuluyang umalis doon. Heading to the airport's exit, I snatched a glance at Alice who is sitting next to me. It's very unusual for her to be this quiet, pero naiintindihan ko naman kung bakit siya ganyan ngayon.

"Alice, okay ka lang ba?"

Tumango naman ito at napabuntong hininga. "Just kinda sad to see him go. Sanay naman na ako, pero kahit na alam mo yun?"

"Yeah, I know what you mean. Huwag ka ng magpa-stress. He's gonna be fine. Miles is a big boy and so are you." I paused to think and turned to the left side of the road as we finally reached the highway. "Saan mo gustong pumunta? Are you hungry?" I gotta help this girl get her mind off from missing her twin brother.

"Hmmm... let's go shoe shopping?!" she claps her hands in delight.

I puff my cheeks in faux exasperation. Heto na naman tayo. Alice and her shoe addiction. Nakalimutan kong therapy niya nga pala ang mag lustay ng pera para sa mga sapatos kapag malungkot siya. "Fine. Shoe shopping here we go."

Tailing behind Alice while she's busy looking at a million pairs of shoes, she stops to her tracks all of a sudden and hugs my right arm. Kapag ginagawa niya 'to sa akin para maglambing pakiramdam ko isa siyang malaking pusa.

"So... nasaan nga pala si Eureka?" tanong niya.

"Hindi ko alam. Probably busy with hotel stuff. Why? Bakit mo naman siya hinahanap?"

"Wala lang. Akala ko kasi isasama mo siya ngayong gabi." Alice shrugs while resting her chin on my arm.

"No, she's a very busy woman, Alice. In fact, we have not seen each other since we were at Janine's."

She stops walking and faces me. "Oh my god. Huwag mong sabihing nag-break na kayo?"

I closed my eyes and sighed. "Paano naman kaming magbi-break? Eh hindi naman kami. I thought I made that clear to you."

"But you like her."

I just stared at her and said nothing.

I know...

It is so hard to adore someone who has walls built around herself. You don't even know how to love them. Whenever I am around Eureka everything feels nice and good... but when I am not with her she feels like a distant beautiful dream. Whenever she is not around, I am tormented by the fact that she's cold and hard to reach and I feel like I can't even do anything to rectify that.

"Chico, did you hear me? I said you like---"

"Yeah, I do... I do. Maybe even more than that. Hindi ko alam."

Alice stares at me intently. "Then what are you waiting for? Bakit hindi nalang maging kayo?"

"How the hell am I supposed to do that? Hindi naman ganun kadali yun."

"Edi ligawan mo! Tanga!" she rolled her eyes heavenwards and picks up a shoe from the store. She eyes it curiously. "Hindi ko gets kung bakit hanggang ngayon hindi mo pa rin siya nililigawan? Don't tell me sa tanda mong yan nato-torpe ka pa?!"

"Alice, hindi ako nato-torpe, okay? You don't understand. She's just..." I sighed. "Really complicated."

"How?"

"She's a cold person, Alice. You should have seen her. Hanggang ngayon misteryo pa rin siya sa akin. Someone sent me old photographs of her at the office. No notes, no address, no nothing. Hindi ko alam kung para saan ang mga iyon? I've seen her panic at her delusions and hurt herself. She is hot and cold to me. I kissed her once and then she didn't want to speak to me right after. One minute we are cool and the next minute I'm guessing if she would even like me the way that I do. She's up and she's down, both my heaven and hell."

Alice sighs sadly and slowly slumped her shoulders. She carried on looking closely on one shoe.

I run my fingers to my hair in exasperation and shakes my head. After a beat, I spoke again. "Alice, I have to tell you one thing though..."

"What is it?"

"I'd still give up everything I have just for me to figure her out."

Alice puts down the shoe she's holding, her expression softening as she turns to look at me. She steps forward, smiles at me fondly and kisses my cheek.

"My substitute brother is finally in love."

-
Author's Note:

Hi! I recently created a playlist on Spotify for this book. They are basically the songs that remind me of these characters and the story itself. I listen to these sometimes whenever I write just to get inside their world.

Feel free to suggest songs so I can add them right up to the playlist. :)

Get lost in their worlds here: Enjoy!

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2RpUYluJQW2sHhpSvYtP6t?si=rwx3eKTYTyGFAINudpUg0A